Jackson football team spoils Sikeston's shot at conference title with shutout

The Jackson football team allowed an average of 43.3 points per game through the Indians' first six contests this season, so it didn't seem very probable that their streak of shutouts against visiting Sikeston would last past Friday night.

The Bulldogs had been outscored a combined 91-0 in the previous two seasons and visited The Pit in Jackson with a SEMO Conference North championship on the line.

Jackson dashed the Bulldogs' hopes for a title, won a game in front of its home crowd for the first time this season and extended the shutout to three games with a 41-0 victory.

"I'm very pleasantly surprised. It's by far the best defensive performance we've had this year," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "I wish I could put a finger on it, but I know our kids played really hard. Our defensive line, it starts there. They did a great job. They took on blocks and they did a really good job wadding things up and making the running backs bounce and cut before they were comfortable. Our linebackers did a really good job of fitting in there. And then another key to the game was offensively we executed early. By getting up two scores it got them out of what they really would like to do."

After forcing the Bulldogs, who began the game in their double-tight, double-wing offense, to punt on the opening drive, Jackson needed just five plays and 1 minute, 19 seconds to find the end zone.

Junior running back Brydan Reid broke away for a 40-yard run on third down to the Sikeston 3. Two plays later senior quarterback Landry Moore completed a pass to Jeremy Elliot, who broke a tackle and took it in for a touchdown that put the Indians up 7-0 5 minutes, 50 seconds into the game.

The Bulldogs went three-and-out on the ensuing drive with help from junior linebacker Gabriel Dudley's second sack of the game. Sikeston QB Nathan Hampton's punt went out of bounds at the Bulldogs' 34, setting the Indians up for an easy score.

Jackson's Jeremy Elliott leaves behind a Sikeston defender on his way to the end zone in the first quarter, Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. Jackson won 41-0. (Laura Simon)

Moore ran for 7 yards and then found Elliott, who caught and ran it in for a 26-yard score that made it 14-0 with 5:10 to go in the first.

Sikeston stuck with its ground attack and collected three first downs on its next drive, the last of which was earned with a 25-yard run by senior running back Earnest Fobbs that moved the Bulldogs to the 11 in the final minute of the quarter.

Sikeston moved it to the 5 and called a timeout facing fourth-and-4 just before the play clock expired with 1.8 seconds remaining in the first.

Senior RB Victwon Riley was stopped at the 2, just short of the first down, as time expired, which Dudley said the, "ego boost was huge" from.

An illegal procedure penalty on third down stalled the Indians' next drive and Cooper Callis' punt went low, knocking off another play and going about 18 yards to Sikeston's 46.

The Bulldogs moved into the red zone, but the Jackson defense stopped the run on fourth down again.

"It got us going," Elliott said of the defense. "It got us motivated and wanting to score more. Them keeping a zero up on the board kept us going."

Jackson's Bryndan Reid rushes past Sikeston's Keshawn Ellis on his way to the end zone in the first quarter, Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. Jackson won 41-0. (Laura Simon)

The Indians' drive, which started on their own 19 with 8:05 left in the half, began with an incomplete pass. Elliott caught a pass near midfield on the second play of the drive, ran about 10 yards up the Jackson sideline before cutting across the middle, past two defenders and into the end zone for an 81-yard score. A missed PAT made it 20-0 Jackson with 7:48 to go in the opening half.

"I thought they were going to catch me," Elliott said with a laugh. "They were right there and I just decided to cut back and see what I could do, and it worked out."

Jackson scored once more in the half, with 2:55 remaining before the break.

Reid escaped to the right sideline for a 67-yard run to the 1 and he punched it in on the next play. Elliott, who had 129 yards receiving on five catches, made a diving catch on a 2-point conversion pass to make it 28-0.

"I think one of the critical things was we were able to get the ball to Jeremy early and then they bracketed him, they doubled him," Eckley said, "and once they doubled him it kind of tilted the field, so it gave us some things to work with away from him. It made it possible for us to get some other things working."

Moore started and played the majority of the game at quarterback for the Indians, but senior Triston Thele and sophomore Cooper Callis also saw snaps at QB.

Moore completed 8 of 13 passes for 169 yards and rushed for 14 yards on three carries.

Jackson's Landry Moore makes a pass in the first quarter against Sikeston, Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. Jackson won 41-0. (Laura Simon)

"I thought he threw the ball well, and I thought he threw the ball where it was supposed to go a real high percentage of the time," Eckley said of Moore. "I was really pleased with that. He keeps getting better and better."

Sikeston attempted an onside kick to start the second half and recovered it, but the ball had not gone 10 yards, so Jackson took over on the Bulldogs' 45. Sophomore RB Ethan Laster scored on the next play to make it 35-0.

Sikeston turned it over on downs on Jackson's 46 on the next drive and the Indians scored on a 20-yard run by Reid with 1:15 left in the third to make it 41-0.

Sikeston moved the ball as far as the Jackson 36 later in the game, but that drive resulted in a fumble forced and recovery by Dudley.

"Just going for the ball. Strip, strip, strip. Finishing tackles. I mean, that's the name of the game," Dudley said of why the defense was successful. "Strip the ball, finish your tackles, you'll win."

Jackson improved to 3-4 and 3-1 in conference while Sikeston lost its second straight game, falling to 5-2 and 2-2 in conference.

"I feel freaking awesome," Reid said of his team's win on senior night. "Oh my gosh, a long time coming. I mean, that's our first win on our home turf and it's our last game here of the regular season. I love it. I love sharing this moment with my brothers."

Jackson plays at Seckman in Week 8.

"We're going to take away a lot. We're going to know that our potential is here," Reid said, lifting his hand above his head. "We know it now. We know how much we can achieve."

Jackson 14 14 13 0 -- 41

Sikeston 0 0 0 0 -- 0

First quarter

J -- Jeremy Elliott 5 pass from Landry Moore (Elliott kick), 7:10

J -- Elliott 26 pass from Moore (Elliott kick), 5:10

Second quarter

J -- Elliott 81 pass from Moore (kick failed), 7:48

J -- Bryndan Reid 1 run (Elliott pass from Moore), 2:55

Third quarter

J -- Ethan Laster 45 run (Elliott kick), 11:49

J -- Reid 20 run (kick failed), 1:15

J S

First downs 11 14

Rushes-yards 20-230 42-143

Passing yards 213 103

Passes 10-18-0 7-15-0

Punts-average 3-34 5-39.4

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 3-15 5-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Jackson, Reid 9-133, Moore 3-14, Lashone Dean 1-4, Laster 5-53, Triston Thele 2-26; Sikeston, Keshawn Ellis 7-32, Victwon Riley 12-29, Earnest Fobbs 8-51, Justus Faulkner 3-29, Nathan Hampton 10-(-7), Phayzun Fobbs 2-9.

PASSING -- Jackson, Moore 8-13-169-0, Thele 0-1-0-0, Cooper Callis 2-4-44-0; Sikeston, Hampton 7-15-103.

RECEIVING -- Jackson, Elliott 5-129, Layne Stevens 1-7, Quentin Kent 4-77; Sikeston, Riley 1-15, Deterio Newman 2-30, E. Fobbs 1-23, Faulkner 1-2, P. Fobbs 2-9, Ellis 1-10.